The Words We Say
by Dreams of the Future
Summary: Side Story to 'Parallel', but can be read as a stand-alone one-shot. This story is about why Kuroko left the Teiko Basketball Team, and how Aomine reacts to it. fem!Kuroko/Aomine


I wrote this in my free time to and fro from school (A total of 70 minutes of travel time a day minus walking), so I managed to get this done despite my busy schedule of projects and exams.

This idea popped up when I first started brain-storming for ideas for 'Parallel', but I couldn't use it in the story itself. However, those ideas that have potential to be stand-alone one-shots end up being Side Stories.

This was slightly inspired by this doujin I read somewhere, but I only saw it once from somewhere, and I don't have it in my computer. Anyway, I think one or two parts may be similar, so I apologize for not being very original for those small itty bits.

HAPPY XXth BIRTHDAY TO MY BETA AND KID SIS, _**A NATSUME YUUJINCHOU LOVER**_. And thanks for your help as always.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basket and its franchise.**

* * *

**Parallel**

**Side Story 1**

"**The words we say"**

"Ahh, nice breeze."

It was a lazy Monday afternoon, and Aomine Daiki was once again, skipping practice; just like he always did.

Winter was slowly seeping in, the temperature dropping slowly as the days pass. Before long, it would be snowing; the little crystals floating down to the land below and covering it in a blanket of pure white.

"… What are you doing here, Aomine-kun?"

"Gahh!" Aomine yelled, sitting up immediately.

The sudden movement had caused his forehead to collide with Kuroko's, who could not dodge in time. Aomine winced in pain as he clutched his throbbing forehead.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Tetsu?"

"I could say the exact same thing to you," Kuroko retorted, the same blank expression on her face. "Basketball practice has already started."

"That again?" Aomine clicked his tongue, lying back down on the tiled floor. "I'm not going. Even if Akashi sends you to pick me up."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb. I know he sent you to coax me into going for practice. He already sent that noisy blonde chick, Satsuki and that pushy glasses-wearing tsundere to bother me. I told him that it doesn't matter who he sends; I'm not going and never will again. Can't he just leave me alone once and for all?"

"I came on my own will; and don't insult the rest of your teammates like that," Kuroko heaved a sigh. "Don't be like that, Aomine-kun. You know Sei-kun means well."

Aomine gave a snort as he turned his head to the opposite side. He couldn't see, but he could tell that Tetsu was frowning.

"Only for the basketball team, that is."

"How can you say things like that when you know how Sei feels about us? He even thinks of you as his brother."

"I don't want a fox-faced closet sadist for a brother, thank you very much."

"Aomine-kun."

"Go away, Tetsu; you're annoying."

"I am not going away."

"Go away," Aomine sighed, his voice akin to a whine.

"I said I am not going."

"Are you trying to test my patience, Tetsu?"

"You're already testing mine, Aomine-kun."

"Who do you think you are; my mom or something?"

"No, I'm your girlfriend, stupid."

"Who are you calling stupid?"

"Only stupid people think that they do not need practice, Aomine-kun. It is very important that you come for the training session, especially since the Winter Cup for the Middle School division starts next week."

"That's just Akashi being paranoid. We'll win even without it anyway, so it's useless if I go," Aomine grumbled as he sat up, crossing his legs to sit Indian-style. He reached out his hand to hold Kuroko's chin, clasping it between his thumb and forefinger.

"Tell you what, Tetsu. If I go for practice today, you'll have to call me by my first name from now on, be it when we're in class, with the team or on our own. Sounds good?"

"Fine by me."

"And if I attend practice for the entire week, you'll go out with me for a day."

Kuroko stared at him with her usual expressionless glance before lifting her hand, slapping his arm away with a force that could probably rival her Ignite Pass.

"Ow! That hurt!" Aomine growled, rubbing the muscles of his arm. "What was that for, Tetsu?"

"Once again, that is my line. You really are an idiot, aren't you?"

"Is that how you treat the one you love, huh?"

"There's an old Chinese saying that when you scold someone, it's because you dote on them; and when you hit them, it's only because you actually love them."

"That only applies to parental love! My arm is not something for you to practice that insane pass of yours with!"

"But I thought you liked that pass. And you deserved that, anyway."

Aomine rolled his eyes.

"Only when it comes to passing the ball, stupid."

"You're the stupid one. It was really despicable of you to just blurt out something like that."

"I was serious."

"As I have been since the start. Practice?"

"A waste of my time. Now go away."

"I already said that I am not going, even if Aomine-kun tells me to."

"So annoying. Why are you so persistent, Tetsu?"

Kuroko gave him a smile as she answered.

"That's because Daiki-kun is my partner, of course."

Aomine froze for a brief moment, somewhat shocked at seeing that rare expression on her face. Snapping out of it, he narrowed his eyes, gritting his teeth.

"Don't do things like that."

With one quick movement, he had Kuroko pinned to the ground. The girl's expression returned to her usual one: stoic and passive. She did not say a word as she remained staring straight at him.

"You don't understand, Tetsu," Aomine started, his voice shaking and his eyes squeezed shut. "For me, basketball… It has become so mundane; so boring. The more we win, the more… You won't be able to understand, Tetsu. Matches used to be fun, so enjoyable… but everyone else's just too weak. The thrills… that exhilarating feeling of blood rushing through your veins… The excitement's just not there any-"

Aomine stopped mid-sentence as felt a warm hand stroke his hair, as if trying to comfort him. He opened his eyes only to see a warm expression on Kuroko's face. Slowly, she urged him to move, so that they were both kneeling down facing each other.

Kuroko leaned forward to hold him in her arms.

"Tetsu…?"

"Shh," She whispered lightly, consoling him.

She raised her hand to stroke his soft dark-blue locks once again, trying to soothe his worries. She pressed a small kiss on his temple before burying her nose in his hair, inhaling his scent.

He felt his own arms move, holding the smaller body close to him.

"Tetsu, I…"

"Shh… It's okay. It will be okay, trust me."

Kuroko paused for a while before she spoke again.

"Daiki-kun is right: I don't understand how Daiki-kun feels right now. But I'm sure it will become fun for you again, you'll see. That day will come soon enough; I'm sure it will."

She paused to slowly plant a soft kiss onto his lips.

"I love you, Daiki-kun."

Kuroko spoke slowly as she continued to hold him, in a gentle tone that seemed to quell the hollow feeling that was brewing inside of him, though those were the words he did not want to hear.

Perhaps some part of him wanted to believe that what Kuroko… what Tetsu said was true.

The Winter Cup had come and gone in the blink of an eye. It had been an easy win for Teikou, with every match won with at least a double score, some triple.

Winter passed and so did spring; the Generation of Miracles were now in their third and final year of Middle School. The National Inter-School competition was held earlier than usual that year; and as the heat of summer was starting to seep in, the whole of Japan anticipated the upcoming semi-finals.

But as usual, Teikou was winning match after match, their plays more aggressive than it had been before. They weren't simply defeating their opponents, they were literally crushing them. Especially Aomine, whse skills were still developing and evolving at a frightening pace. He was practically an insatiable beast whose thirst could never be quenched.

Kuroko could only watch, with worry and concern in her heart, as she watched her beloved play match after match.

It was difficult, painful even, for her to watch him play with that haughty expression of his. It was as if he did not even see them as his opponents, but as things to pass the time and to be discarded once he was done with them.

Their next opponents were from Yamagusa Middle School, a school from the Saitama Prefecture, whose popularity had been rising as of late. Kuroko had recalled that Akashi had mentioned that they had made it to the semi-finals of the Winter Cup the previous year, where they had lost by a mere point due to one of their players suffering an unexpected injury halfway during that match.

After meeting the regulars from Yamagusa by accident one day after the Winter Cup at a hot-springs resort, Kuroko could tell that they were different those from most schools.

To summarize, one could either say that they were optimistic, unique, full of guts or simply just plain odd.

The team from Yamagusa had greeted them warmly and opened themselves to the Generation of Miracles, instead of cowering in fear and running off with their tail between their legs as other schools would have done. The members of both teams, at least the female players, became friends quickly than an apple could fall from a tree to the ground.

The Generation of Miracles soon realized, though, if there was anyone with a mind strong enough to face them, it would be Yamagusa.

It didn't take a genius to realize that they were truly a team that purely enjoyed playing basketball. They talked about the sport with such enthusiasm, with light-hearted smiles on their faces; much to Murasakibara's annoyance.

While they were chatting over a hearty dinner of yakiniku, Murasakibara had blatantly insulted their team, his aura of annoyance strong enough to make a sumo wrestler pee in his _fundoshi_. Yet they did not back down, nor did they break at the intensity of his glare. In fact, at the very most, all they did was raise an eyebrow, except for one person: the captain of Yamagusa.

Their captain, a petite girl who was slightly shorter than Kuroko herself, was the first person outside the Generation of Miracles to ever have the guts to stand up to an annoyed Murasakibara. She was also the first person to ever give him a complete earful about his attitude. Afterwards, Murasakibara kept his mouth shut during the rest of the meal.

The whole Generation of Miracles had been stunned at the girl's courage; and their red-haired captain was no exception.

After that incident, Akashi reckoned that Yamagusa was a team that was not to be underestimated. Even he couldn't tell who was a bigger threat: a totally pissed Atsushi or that Captain's guts, though he'd had told his cousin in secret that he would've liked to bet on the latter.

Regardless, if they weren't careful around Yamagusa, it wouldn't be good for their reputation. At least that was what Akashi had given for his reason on why they had to have a last-minute training session two days before the match; though Kuroko knew that Akashi himself had some hope that the upcoming match could bring back the old, basketball-loving Aomine that they once knew.

However, the said ace of the team was nowhere to be found. He had, once again, shamelessly skipped practice.

Though summer had just begun, the weather was already getting warmer and warmer by the day. But that did not deter Aomine Daiki from wasting his time on the school roof.

"Argh, it's too bright," The tan boy grumbled as he held his arm up to shield his eyes from the fierce glare of the sun.

"If you lie here for too long, you'd be baked, Daiki-kun."

Aomine glanced to the side to spot the legs of a very familiar person.

"Why are you here again, Tetsu?"

"I have a message from Momoi-san and Sei-kun," The girl announced, her voice deadpanned as always. "I quote, 'Please tell that Aho-mine to stop being so irresponsible and childish and just come to practice for heaven's sake. We don't care if he dies from heat-stroke or something from being out in the sun too long, but it would be better if he doesn't.' Their words exactly."

"Can't they just leave me alone? It's seriously getting on my nerves."

"If you'd show up for once, maybe they'll consider letting you off the hook once in a while."

"Whatever," Aomine muttered under his breath, "Like they would, anyway."

Kuroko rolled her eyes.

"Somehow, I feel like I just became the nanny of some big, spoiled five year-old brat."

"Hey!"

"Let's go for practice," Kuroko tugged onto his sleeve once. "Come on, or we'll be late."

"So annoying," Aomine growled, pulling his sleeve free. "What's so special about that match anyway? I don't care where they're from Sankusa or Yamasou or whatever, but we would be winning anyway. It's nothing but a waste of my time."

"It's Yamagusa. And really, stop acting like this. I really wanted to practice passing with you today."

"Go practice with Kise or someone else, then," Aomine dismissed her comment with a wave of his hand.

"I did that last week."

"Midorima?"

"Two days ago."

"Murasakibara?"

"Yesterday."

"Akashi?"

"This morning."

"Seriously?"

"Yup. So the only one left is you. Now stop being an overgrown baby and let's go."

"Who are you calling an overgrown baby?"

"You act like one, so it fits."

"I do not! And besides, there's no need for me to practice something like that anymore. You know perfectly well that I can steal the ball on my own and score my fair share of the points and even more all on my own, so there shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"…" Kuroko said nothing, but anyone could see from her face that his statement had hurt her deeply; except Aomine, who still had his eyes blocked by his arm.

"Tetsu? Are you still there?"

"Hm? What?"

"So you finally gave up on forcing me? What a relief!"

"I didn't say I was going to give up."

"Really," Aomine sighed. "Just go away already. Seriously. Leave me alone."

"I told you a thousand times before. I'm not going to leave you."

It was then an idea popped into his head.

"Hey, Tetsu," He spoke as he sat up. "Tell you what: If I go for practice until the end of the Inter-School competition…"

Kuroko sighed.

"Not this again. You already had that date; what more would you want from me?"

"This time, you'll do it with me."

Kuroko gave Aomine a wide-eyed stare of shock. It was only after a solid minute that she could choke out her reply.

"What?"

"Don't play dumb, Tetsu. You know what I mean. Of course, if you're not interested, you can just leave now."

"Y-You want me to... to…"

"Yup. I want you to sleep with me. And I don't just mean sleeping on a bed together side-by-side, if you know what I mean."

"Never."

Kuroko was glaring at him by now, her fists clenched tight in fury. How could he say such a thing so casually?

"A-Are you angry with me, Tetsu?"

"Of course I'm not angry. In fact, I'm absolutely furious with you."

And even an idiot like Aomine knew that a fuming mad Kuroko Tetsuya was not something to be trifled with. For a girl who rarely shows signs of anger, the effects of incurring her wrath was akin to opening the cage of a wild beast and setting it loose.

"L-Look Tetsu, it was just a joke. You don't have to get so angry over something like tha-"

"Just a joke?" Kuroko repeated, her aura getting more and more ominous with every passing nanosecond. "How could you joke about something like that, you moron? You just do not joke about things like that, you hear me? Is skipping practice really that fun? Why do you even bother staying here, then; when you could just go straight home?"

"Tetsu, I…"

"Why do you always have to be so stubborn? Why is it that you can say such… such awful things as if you're talking about the weather? I don't know how you can stoop that low!"

"Tetsu, I'm sorry, I…" Aomine reached out to try to comfort her, but she knocked his arm aside with her fists, now loosely clenched.

"I don't want you to apologise, Aomine-kun. I don't," By this time, Kuroko's cheeks were already damp with her tears. The clear liquid dripped down onto her jersey, soaking the cloth. "The Daiki-kun I love always looks his best when he's enjoying himself, putting in all his effort into doing the things that he loves. Looks like that person in front of me is no longer him."

Aomine remained silent. He wanted to say something, perhaps shout in her face to retort at her statements; but he couldn't. He didn't have the heart to.

He just didn't know what he should do.

He remained still as she moved, head still hung low as she ran towards the door leading to the stairwell.

"Tetsu! Where are you going?"

The girl paused after swinging the door open. She stood in silence for a moment before she spoke one last time, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

"You told me to leave, didn't you?"

The next thing Aomine knew, the door was slammed shut with a loud bang.

He simply sat where he was, in the silence as the seconds tickled by.

He and Tetsu had always had little arguments every now and them, of which she was quick to forgive. But this was the first time he had ever seen her cry like that.

Was she that upset by what he had said? Or was it something else?

Aomine gritted his teeth as he stood up.

"Damn it to hell," He cursed under his breath as he stormed off, making his way to the gymnasium that was used by the members of the First String.

Kise Ryouko was the first one who spotted him. When she sported the tan boy, she was so shocked that she dropped the ball that she was holding, her jaw hanging open.

"A-Aominecchi actually came for practice?"

"Don't be silly, Blondie. I'm here to find Tetsu. Where is she?"

"Didn't she go to find you, Dai?" Momoi was the one to reply his question, clipboard tucked under one arm. "And why have you not been showing up for practice? I'll make sure Akashi gives you a proper lecture when he returns."

"Leave that for later, Satsuki. Where's Tetsu?"

"As I have said earlier," Momoi sighed, running a hand through his peach-pink locks. "The last time we all saw Tetsu was when she told us that she was going to look for you. She hasn't been back since."

"I see… And Akashi? Where did he run off to?"

"Beats me."

"If you're talking about Aka-chin," Murasakibara interrupted from a distance away. "He had a call earlier; and after that he said something about having something urgent to attend to. He just left a short while ago."

"Ah."

Momoi Satsuki eyed his childhood friend with a careful gaze.

"Did something happen, Dai?"

"H-Huh? What do you mean, Satsuki? Nothing's wrong with me."

"You're lying. I can tell."

"How can you? It's not like you can read my mind, can you?"

"Oh please, I've known you for so long. I don't even need to read your mind to know that something is up with you."

"I said there is nothing wrong with me! Nothing happened; not at all! I'm perfectly okay!"

"Then something must have happened with Tetsu, then."

"Nothing happened between us!"

"Then would you care to explain why Kuroko did not return here with you?" It was Midorima who had retorted this time.

"Well, that..."

"So something did happen," Momoi raised an eyebrow. "Did you two get into a fight or something?"

"Aominecchi, what did you do to Tetsucchi?"

"Or rather, what did you say to her?"

"Mine-chin, fighting isn't good."

"Would all of you cut it out?" Aomine growled at the group that was now surrounding him. "I already said that nothing happened between the two of us!"

"What are all of you doing?" A chilling voice came from behind all of them.

"A-Akashicchi! W-Welcome back!"

Akashi gave all of them his usual smile, though his aura was as frightening as ever?

"Isn't supposed to be time for practice? Or would one of you fools here like to tell me what is so interesting that it has to be heard no matter what?"

"W-We were just talking about Te-"

"Tests! That's what we were talking about! We were talking about how this idiot here," Momoi paused to grab Aomine in a headlock, "Was going to fail all of his tests if he doesn't study."

"I see. But that is to be expected, isn't it?"

"Akashi, you..."

"Putting this idiot aside, could all of you get back to practice?"

"Erm, Akashicchi... Have you seen Tetsucchi?"

Akashi's smile, for the oddest reason, grew even wider. Everyone shuddered as they saw a glint appear his eyes.

"Tetsuya just informed me that she wasn't feeling well, so I sent her home to rest. As a matter of fact, I just returned from walking her to the school gates."

Aomine opened his mouth to speak, but shut it when he decided against it.

So she was going to avoid him.

"Eh? Tetsu is sick?" Momoi's brows furrowed in concern. "But she looked fine just now. Will she be alright?"

"It must be the heat from summer," Midorima spoke as she pushed up her glasses. "We all know Kuroko doesn't fall sick easily, but she's weak when it comes to the heat."

"Wow, Mido-chin knows Kuro-chin so well."

"Well, it's always a headache to carry her out whenever she faints in the hot-springs," Midorima directed a glare to Kise, who sighed.

"You're still angry about it, Midorimacchi? I already paid you back for that thing."

"But you haven't compensated for the bad luck."

"Are we going to continue practice, or are we not?"

"Y-Yes, Akashicchi!"

"Good. Now all of you should go and do what you need to do."

"Yes sir!"

Kise, Midorima and Murasakibara ran off to continue practice, before Akashi decides against being forgiving at that very moment.

Akashi gave Aomine a questioning look.

"Daiki…"

"W-What is it?"

"It's nothing. Hurry and change to your jersey. You'll be working with Ryouko today."

"Forget it. I think I'll pass on practice after all," Aomine turned, making his way out of the gym.

"What?" Momoi spat out, surprised that Aomine would dare to go against Akashi to that extent. "Dai, you…"

"Leave him be, Satsuki."

"But…"

Akashi shook his head, a gesture to their manager to leave the tan boy alone, before he continued on with the practice session.

The next day, for the first time since they had started Middle School, Kuroko had been absent from school. Akashi had said that she had caught a cold and was confined to her bed by her mother, but Aomine knew otherwise.

That stubborn girl would never miss a day of lessons, even if she had a high fever or a broken leg.

He had wanted to talk to her, to apologize to her for what had happened yesterday, but it seemed like he won't get the chance.

How far would she go to avoid him?

Aomine sighed, propping one elbow on his desk to support his chin as he tried to pay attention to the teacher's droning.

At least she would turn up tomorrow for the match… Right?

Unfortunately, he was wrong.

"W-What do you mean Tetsu isn't here?" Aomine growled at Akashi, who had just announced the news to the team who was now gathered in the locker room, waiting for their match to start.

"Is her cold that bad?" Kise questioned, worried for her friend. "Maybe we should go and visit her after this."

"Don't."

"But Akashicchi-"

"She wouldn't want us to catch her cold."

Aomine grit his teeth in frustration, letting out a growl of displeasure which did not go unnoticed by Akashi.

"What is it, Daiki? Do you have something to say?"

"I do! There's something that you aren't telling us!" Aomine banged his fist onto a nearby wall. "Tetsu doesn't have a cold, does she?"

"What do you mean, Daiki?"

"Don't play dumb! We are a team, aren't we? You have the right to tell us what happened to Tetsu, whether you want to or not!"

"But do you really want to know?"

"Huh?"

"Ignorance is bliss, Daiki. What would you do if you know the truth?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'll do something about it!"

"What if you can't?"

"Enough with the questions, Akashi," Aomine's patience was at its limits. "You better tell me now; or I won't be playing today."

"Aominecchi!"

"Dai! That's too much!"

Akashi gave a sigh.

"If you are so desperate, then I shouldn't hide it from you any longer," Akashi stuck his hand into the pocket of his jacket, retrieving a folded envelope. "Take a good look. You'll understand everything once you see this."

Aomine snatched the envelope, looking at it closely. He could feel the cold sweat forming on his palms as his hands started to shake.

"What is the meaning of this? Why… Tetsu is quitting the team?"

There was no mistake to what he had saw. On the envelope, written in a black marker in Kuroko Tetsuya's distinctive handwriting, were the words that Aomine had least expected to see.

"T-Tetsu is quitting? You can't be serious, Akashi-kun."

"This is not a joke, Satsuki. Tetsuya gave this to me the day before yesterday when I went over to her place. She wouldn't tell me what happened, but I'm not going to pry," The glare Akashi sent Aomine was so intense, even the rest of the team felt a shiver run down their spines. "You know what I don't; don't bother denying that."

"Are you asking me to take responsibility?"

"Asking; of course not. Expecting; perhaps. I'm only going to tell you to reflect on your own as we play today," He looked towards the whole team. "Let's go; or we'll be late."

"You still can think of the match at this time? I didn't expect you to be that heartless, Akashi! She's your cousin, isn't she?"

That was it.

Akashi moved at a speed so quickly, it looked like a blur to the rest. In his hand was a craft knife, with its blade fully sunk into the wall next to Aomine's cheek, cracks forming in the paint and the plaster.

"Watch your words, Daiki. I'm sick and tired of you acting so cocky. Tell me: do you have any idea how I had felt when she called me that day, her voice hoarse? Do you have any idea how much it hurt me to see her, huddled into a ball in the corner of the classroom? Do you know how heart-wrenching it was for me when I held her as she broke down into tears? Do you, Daiki?"

Aomine said nothing in response to Akashi's question, his head hung low.

"Has that tiny brain of yours forgotten what you had said to me two years ago? You promised that you would watch over her; and with regards to that you've failed miserably. At this moment, what right do you have to lecture me, to start pinning the blame on me when you were the cause of all of this? Tell me, Daiki; enlighten me. Stop being so quiet and say something. What happened to that cockiness of yours earlier?"

No one, Aomine included, dared to speak; for fear of further incurring Akashi's wrath.

"I have never, ever once seen Tetsu like this. You know what you are to her, yet you keep doing things to hurt her. I did not stop her because I respect her decisions. Even as her cousin, I cannot and would not force her to change her mind. But what I can do at the very least is to be by her side when she needs me. And you? What about you? Do you not feel any remorse at all?"

"Aka-chin, calm down," Murasakibara finally spoke, his voice as soft as a whisper. "Attacking him won't do you any good."

"You're right, Atsushi. It wouldn't solve anything. But at least it'll give him a decent wake-up call."

Akashi withdrew his outstretched hand, removing the knife from the wall in the process.

"Don't think I'll ever forget this, Daiki."

Akashi turned, making a gesture to the rest to follow him. Only Momoi remained where he stood, next to his childhood friend. Aomine leaned against the wall, crouched down.

"Dai, are you hurt anywhere? You dodged that attack, didn't you?"

"Dodged?" A chuckle ripped out from Aomine's throat. "He missed on purpose, that bastard."

"He… what? Dai, just what happened between you and Tetsu?"

Aomine ignored his childhood friend and walked off on his own to find the rest of the team, who should've gathered on one of the benches by the court by now.

'Go away.'

'Leave me alone.'

Those were the words that he had constantly thrown at her, yet each time she never gave up on him.

But even her persistence lost against his stubbornness… though he did not expect her to take his words so literally. Then again, words will be nothing but mere words.

_I said I am not going._

Words… don't really have any special meaning behind them. They are merely spoken for the sake of being spoken; used by a speaker to appease the person who is listening.

Words don't convey any meaning other than their own. They are empty. They do not contain feelings. They are not supposed to.

Or that was what Aomine Daiki would like to think.

Yet, why does he feel this odd feeling when he remembers her smile, and her words to him?

_I love you, Daiki-kun._

She would always say those with a smile, her eyes filled with a warm gaze that made him feel so much at ease.

Why does he feel so warm, yet at the same time, there is twinge in his heart?

_It will be okay._

They were just words…

Just like that time.

_I'm sure it will become fun for you again._

Yeah right.

It was always about basketball, isn't it?

It was not he that she loved, but his style of playing basketball.

There were no sentiments, no sappy feelings behind those words that she spoke.

_Because Daiki-kun is my partner._

What's so good about basketball, anyway?

He already gave up finding an opponent that can defeat him. He was already sick of waiting, plus it was impossible to find one. So why bother?

"The only one who can beat me… is me!"

* * *

Important Note: I'm planning to redo Parallel from scratch. Reason being that my idea about the parallel-world thing was very 'weak' and the plot was flying about in all directions. Literally.

Since I am now going to include romance, everything has to be re-plotted; otherwise Parallel is doomed to become far, I have 15 and a half chapter plots, chapter two half-written. So far, I will retain the plots for chapters 2, 4, 8, 9, 10 and 12. The rest are all nothing but (now that I realize) annoying fillers, so I'll either come up with something meaningful or I'll end up combining chapters. 8 and 9 is part of one of the 'important' parts, I can't let that go no matter what.

I promise I'll have chapter two out by the 7th of July, otherwise I'll commit seppuku.

This side-story has a connection with the original plans I had for chapter 15. It's still a secret, though; but it includes my OCs for Yamagusa. You'll definitely see them in the original story.

And I decided to make both Kise and Midorima girls in the parallel world. Kise's first name will be Ryouko and for Midorima, I settled on Makoto using the kanji of his first name. The kanji usually reads 'Shin' or 'Masa', but 'Makoto' is the nanori reading. And it's not the same kanji as Hanamiya. Oh, and Momoi's a guy too.

Akashi's craft knife is something I saw at DAISO, which looks a bit like... a scalpel. I think it's called a 'hobby knife' rather than a craft knife, though.

I hope you've enjoyed 'The words we say'! And now I'm heading back to my schoolwork (dives into piles of books and papers)

Cheers!  
_Dreams of the Future_


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